


Stranger Things Have Happened

by Rocketro



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Character Death, Cults, Demons, Gen, Ghosts, I added a subplot just to not have some characters have children, Implied/Referenced Cannibalism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Internalized Homophobia, Mass Genocide, Murder, Namely Quackity, Not very light stuff folks, Sally Face AU, Some may be OOC because of the AU, Suicide, executions, gross food stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27601097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rocketro/pseuds/Rocketro
Summary: Everybody thinks I'm crazy...But I'd rather be crazy than dead.~~~When 15-year-old Clay Fisher, or Dream, moved into a new apartment building with his dad, he had thought that the hardest thing to do was overcoming his mother's death and fitting in with new friends at a new school.What he did not expect, however, was getting wrapped up in murder cases, shady neighbors, ghost hauntings, and a demonic cult hidden in plain sight.But, things don't always go as expected, so Dream might as well go along with it (dragging his newly made friends along with him, of course).~~~Sally Face AU (you don't have to know the game to follow the storyline).Story and chapter titles from Stranger Things Have Happened by Random Encounters
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Friendships are main focus, Some background ones mainly for AU purposes
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	1. Since I’ve Moved In I’ve Seen Them

It was just like the last time. Only this time, it started in a hospital.

The room was extremely dark, so dark you could barely see your own hands. Your face is wrapped up in thick bandages with tufts of your dirty blond hair peeking out; it’s a wonder you can see at all.

You stumble towards a wall and rub your hand around it, finally grasping the light switch. The room illuminates immediately, revealing a hospital room with the basics inside; an uncomfortable looking bed with light blue sheets, a table with a magazine and a vase full of flowers, and a television hanging up on the wall.

In the corner is a portrait of a golden retriever, its tongue lulling out and its muzzle curved into a smile-like shape.

It makes you grin back. You like puppies.

Looking down, you can see that you’re wearing a hospital gown. As soon as you realize that, your feet curl up; they’re cold since you’re barefoot.

The jarring sound of a phone ringing catches your attention. You snap your head to look at it and carefully tiptoe over; usually your mom or dad would answer it, but they weren’t there. And you felt a sort of need to answer it, you didn’t know quite why.

“Hello?” 

The response from the caller comes instantly. “It’s okay, Clay. Everything is going to be okay now...come and see...”

You shuffle your feet a little, you’re cold and alone and you don’t enjoy this situation one bit.

“Where am I?” You whisper, despite knowing you wouldn’t get an answer.

“Clay,” called the voice once more. “Come and find me...”

That was...weird. Strangely, the caller sounded similar to your dad...

Deciding to take the caller’s advice (what else could you do?), you walk over to the door and gently push on it.

Locked.

You look around the room. The answer must be somewhere, right? Maybe you’d just have to stay a little while until that caller came to let you out?

While glancing around, a strange glimmer catches your eye. Intrigued, you wander over to it.

And, sure enough, there’s a shining golden key hidden halfway under a rolling table.

You smile, feeling quite clever for finding a solution on your own. After unlocking the door, you head outside the room.

The place you enter seems to be a hallway, doors to rooms (probably just like yours) are placed evenly across the wall to your right, the left wall completely barren.

The floor is dirty, looking scuffed up by shoes, and the paint is peeling. You glance back at the room you just exited, shocked to see that it had been covered up with bricks.

Experimentally, you push against the brick wall. It doesn’t budge an inch.

Each door is marked with a letter. You go through the door marked with “D”. “D” for door, after all!

You arrive in another corridor, the only difference being that this one is more roughed up than the first one. 

There are holes in the floor, the baseboards are discolored with water, and the walls look even more beat up.

After contemplating, you decide to go through a door marked with “P”. In your defense, it sounded funny.

You end up back in the first hallway, right in front of that bricked off hospital room.

Quickly, you enter through the “D” door again, then choose the “O” door.

D...O...

What does that...

Oh! Of course!

Doggy!

You love doggies, you wish you could pet one right now. But sadly, you’re in a situation right now, so the petting would have to wait.

There were patches of dirt in the floor of the hallway, grass growing in them. The walls were covered in a rusty brown. It disturbed you.

The final door, “G”. 

You were right! It was spelling dog! You’re lucky that you got put in this situation, not some other kid who wasn’t as smart as you.

It was raining, the grass felt weird on your feet and the mud made you grumble. It was fun, but you know your mom would be sad if you didn’t listen to her and got dirty.

There was a group of people huddled together, all wearing dark colors and some holding umbrellas. You walked past them, they seemed sad and you didn’t want to make them sadder.

Then...

There! There it was! A puppy!

You bend down, grinning widely. “Who’s a good doggy?” You ask, extremely excited. “Who’s a good boy?”

The dog looks up at you, seeming strangely tired. “I buried here alive, kid. You tell me.”

“Huh?”

“Go see for yourself.” 

The dog disappeared then, like the earth swallowed it up.

You didn’t quite understand what that meant, and you didn’t quite know why the puppy was talking instead of barking. But you decided to walk back to where the group was earlier and see what the dog meant.

The crowd was gone, leaving a stone with a large hole next to it. There was writing on the stone, and you mumbled it out loud.

“Astellic Fisher, 1948-1984. Beloved mother and wife.”

Astellic Fisher? Hey, that was your mom! Well, your dad always looked weird when you talked about it and most of the time you just called her by her name, but it was still her! Why was her name on that?

There was that hole there still. Taking a deep breath, you jump down it before you can talk yourself out of it.

You landed in a tunnel, completely surrounded by dirt. If it wasn’t so scary, you’d like it. Maybe even make it into a fort.

There’s a keypad attached to the door. You know what to enter.

5364

The door busts open and the keypad fries.

Inside is a hallway of a house. Pieces of the drywall chipped off and fell on the floor, showing the wooden structure behind. There’s no furniture besides a singular lamp lying on its side, the lightbulb still glowing brightly.

At the end of the hallway is a man. He looms above you, although that’s mainly due to you being so small. Even though he was facing away from you, you knew who he was; messy black hair, casual jeans, a light blue jacket...

“Dad?”

“You are not my son,” he growls, still not looking away from you. “My son is not a murderer.”

There’s a bright flash, causing you to squeeze your eyes shut, and then he’s gone.

Why was he mad? What did you do? You don’t remember doing anything really bad...

But in the back of your mind, you knew what he was talking about. “You did do something bad. Your dad did have a right to be mad at you. You deserve it.”

But why? What happened?

In the next room, there was a metal wall. Little handles stuck out of some of them, like drawers. But these drawers were giant! You bet you could fit in one.

“It’s where you belong,” the back part of your mind whispers again. “You belong in one of those, and you’ll end up in one, too. A punishment for all you’ve done.”

Something was written on the floor in a dark red. 

THIS IS YOUR FAULT

What? Can’t someone just say what it was already? What did you do? What happened?

One of the drawers were open.

It gets darker the farther down the hallway you go. 

There’s a bed with a person laying on it. You recognize them...

“...Mom?”

———  
“And that’s when I woke up.”

Two people sat across from each other. One held a clipboard and was scribbling things down with a pencil.

“Hmm, yes, it’s an interesting dream,” the one with the clipboard said. “I think we should come back to that later. But for right now, Clay, could you tell me about the body?”

The one, named Clay, let out a humorless laugh. “Which one, Dr. Manifold?”

“The second one, the one from the apartment,” the doctor clarified.

“Dad and I had just moved in.”

Clay clenched one of his fists, running his fingers through his light brown hair with his other hand.

“I had a weird feeling about that place right away...”


	2. The Faces Of All The Deceased

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream meets his strange neighbors.

“This will be our new beginning!” Dream’s dad declared, brown eyes shining.

A lot of people in the past had pointed out that Dream and his dad looked nothing alike, especially when Dream was little and still had blond hair.

Even still, Dream’s light brown hair and bright green eyes were nothing like his dad’s jet black hair and brown eyes. Dream shared the same hair as his mother, which his dad would sometimes note with a wistful smile, but the shock of green eyes didn’t match her either.

Most people didn’t notice his eyes as much anymore; they mainly paid attention to the white mask covering Dream’s entire face.

“We can finally leave what happened in New Jersey behind us now!” Continued Dream’s dad. “Why don’t you go explore the building and make some friends while I finish packing?”

Dream gave a nod and headed to look at his new room.

Some unopened boxes were stacked against the wall, a bed frame leaning against a corner, and a mattress on the floor. The only thing that was set up was the TV.

On the mattress laid a dark brown tabby cat.

“I see you’ve made yourself at home already, Patches. Must be nice.”

Dream walked over to the TV and lifted up a stray box to place next to the pile of boxes. Underneath the box was a small device.

“My Gearboy! I was wondering where that went!”

Dream shoved the Gearboy in his pocket and left his bedroom to his father’s room.

“Hey, kiddo, decided to take a break from unpacking?” Asked Dream’s dad, giving a goofy smile. “That’s not a bad idea, we’ve been at it for a while now. Maybe I’ll take a break myself.”

Dream leaned against the doorframe. “What do you think of this place?”

The older man rubbed the back of his neck. “It may not be as nice as our old house, but we’ll manage to make the best of things. As long as we have each other, I think we can make a real home here!”

Snickering, Dream responded. “Pretty cheesy.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” His dad chuckled back.

“I miss Jersey...” Dream mumbled, then instantly felt embarrassed. He felt like a whining toddler.

His dad sighed. “I know you do, bud, but please try to give it a chance. School will start up in a couple of weeks and then you’ll be able to meet all new friends!”

“Yeah, I guess so...”

“I know so!” Dream’s dad leaned against the wall next to him. “Anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend, Clay!”

Dream blushed a little, but was glad for the attention. “Thanks, Dad.”

“I miss Mom...” He said it before he thought it through, eyes instantly going wide.

“Yeah...” His dad’s eyes seemed to dim. “Me too, buddy. Me too.”

Dream coughed awkwardly. “See ya, Dad.”

Dream’s dad ruffled his son’s hair. “Try not to get into too much trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah!”

As soon as Dream left the room, he was met with an interesting sight.

The door right next to Dream’s apartment (well, not exactly right next door as there was an elevator between them) looked like it came out of a horror movie.

There was yellow police tape blocking the door, large scratches engrained in the doorframe. A police officer stood guard near the door.

The guard couldn’t have been that old, maybe eighteen or nineteen. He had very blonde hair and bright purple eyes.

“Hello,” greeted Dream.

The officer spared a sideways glance at him but didn’t respond.

“What are you doing here?” Dream inquired, hoping to get a response this time.

The guard huffed and crossed his arms. “I’m protecting nosy little freaks like you from seeing what they ought not to see.” 

He still didn’t look at Dream.

“Now scram, I don’t get paid to babysit.”

Dream narrowed his eyes. This guy couldn’t be that much older than Dream himself. What a jerk!

“Who are you?” Dream pestered again, causing the police officer to grumble.

“I’m your fairy godmother! What does it look like? I’m an officer of the law, so you better show me some respect!”

The officer tilted his chin up and grinned smugly.

“What happened in that room? Room 403?” Dream squinted at the officer’s name tag. “Mister, uh, Mister Purpled, sir!”

The guard seemed to contemplate giving an actual answer because of the respect, but decided against it. “Police business, kid! Why don’t you run along back to your parents?”

Dream walked away before mumbling. “I wish I could.”

“What was that?” Purpled demanded.

“Nothing!” Dream called back.

“That’s what I thought...”

Since Room 401 was empty, and Dream’s apartment was 402, there wasn’t much left to do on that floor. So, Dream took the elevator up to the fifth floor.

The only thing Dream could think of when he walked out that elevator was “Yikes.”

It was completely run down and abandoned, a faded sign declared it “under construction”.

Room 503 was locked, but 504 was able to be open.

There sat a green-haired man, curled up on himself on a spot full of newspapers. He wore a wrinkled suit, one that looked like it had been worn a lot of times, and threading black pants.

“Hello?” Dream called. “Sorry, I didn’t know anybody lived in here...”

No response.

“Hello? Sir?” He repeated, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“You shouldn’t have come here...” the man said.

Dream put his hands up, showing he meant no harm. “I’m sorry, I was just trying to meet my new neighbors and-”

“A dark place,” the man spoke again. “This place. Horrible things happen.”

Chills were beginning to creep up Dream’s arms. “Are-are you sure you’re okay?”

A loud knock, a banging almost, erupted from the door.

Dream jumped and turned towards the door instinctually. When he turned back around, the man was gone.

“What the-”

After checking the other door for any other creepy Polar Express-like homeless person spirits (all the other rooms on the floor were locked), Dream rushed to the elevator and traveled to the third floor.

Dream just hoped his other neighbors weren’t as strange.

(Boy was he wrong).


	3. Plagued By A Red Eyed Demon

There was a wet floor sign to the left of the elevator. 

Despite there being a kid around his age on the other side (a guy wearing a blue shirt and white-rimmed glasses), Dream decided to ignore him and look at the other side of the hall.

Room 302 was empty. In between rooms 301 and 302 was a cheerful looking man mopping the floor.

The man had dark brown hair, circular glasses, bright green eyes (similar to Dream’s own), and wore a red t-shirt with black pants.

“Hey,” Dream greeted simply.

The guy jumped, clearly not realizing Dream’s presence until then.

“Oh my goodness!” He cried out, before blushing and chuckling at himself a little. “Sorry, you just startled me a little. You must be one of the new guys from 402, yeah? With all the excitement today, I haven’t had a chance to stop in and say ‘Hi’!”

Dream nodded. “Yeah, it’s just me and my dad. My name’s Clay.”

Dream stuck out his hand to shake, which the man took quickly.

“Pleasure to meet ya, Clay! I’m Bad. I take care of this place. Keep things up and runnin’.” Bad placed a comforting hand on Dream’s shoulder. “So if ya ever need help with anything, don’t hesitate to ask, okay?”

Nodding, Dream responded. “Sure, thanks.”

Bad beamed. “You’re quite welcome!”

“Hey, Bad?” Dream asked.

“Yeah, Clay, what’s up?”

Dream decided to start his questioning pretty bland at first. “How long have you been working here?”

“Actually, I don’t just work here,” explained Bad. “I live here, too. I’m on call 24/7 for any urgent maintenance needs! Despite what you might hear from others, this is a very nice building. I’m happy to call it home, going on ten years now!”

Dream furrowed his brow. “Well, what do others say about the building?”

Bad flicked his hand dismissively. “Oh, all kinds of stuff, I’m sure. This building is well over a hundred years old, ya know? People are always complaining about one thing or another. But you’ll here no complaints from me! I’m a person of action. If I see a problem, I fix it.”

“Yeah,” Dream shrugged. “Most people tend to complain about the small things.”

“You can’t sweat the small stuff, Clay,” Bad advised. “It’s just no way to live, ya know?”

“You’re right,” agreed Dream.

“Take it from me,” continued Bad. “You focus on the good stuff. Focus on what makes you happy in life. Put your energy into that.”

“It seems like a nice place,” said Dream.

“You betcha!” Exclaimed Bad.

Well, no use dodging the subject anymore. Might as well go straight into it.

“So...do you know what happened in 403?”

Bad sighed. “It’s a shame you and your dad had this crummy first impression. I promise things aren’t typically as gruesome around here. Poor Alyssa...”

“Who’s Alyssa?”

Again, Bad flicked his hand dismissively. “Oh, never mind that. Best not to set your mind on such dreadful things.”

Coughing awkwardly, Dream quickly changed the subject. “Is there anything fun to do around here?”

Bad’s eyes sparked up with an idea. “Ya know what? I have a son around your age. I think you two would get along great! He’s downstairs in our apartment, you should go introduce yourself.”

“Sure, I’ll go say hi.” 

Truthfully, Dream didn’t have much hope in friendships. His former friends (the few he had) had never been that great, so he didn’t think his luck would change that much now. However, Bad had been really kind to him, and Dream didn’t want to be rude.

“Great!” Bad smiled. “His name is Sapnap, he’ll be in the basement, tell him I sent you down. You’ll need to have a keycard to access the basement, so luckily for you, I have a spare on me!”

After shoving the key card in his pocket, Dream gave Bad a quick goodbye before going off the explore the second floor. Talking to this “Sapnap” could wait a while.

Rooms 201 to 203 all left Dream’s knock unanswered, wether they weren’t home or they were just ignoring him, Dream didn’t quite know for sure.

Finally, Dream rapped on the last door, room 204.

“Yeah, who’s there?” Came a male voice from behind the wooden apartment door.

Since Dream really expected this room to be empty, he stood in surprise for a few heartbeats before stammering an answer. 

“Oh, uh, hello. I’m new in the building. Just wanted to introduce myself to the neighbors.”

“Okay, come in,” the neighbor responded.

The inside of the room was...not what Dream had imagined. In the corner next to the door was a television with lots of tapes titled “Glitter Ponies” written with different season and episode numbers were strewn about on the television stand.

Across the room was a large green recliner, where a bearded man lounged. He had dark blue eyes and wore a wrinkly flannel with blue jeans.

And, covering multiple shelves, were small figurines of various sci-fi movies and comics. But, the most eye catching was a whole shelf filled with only colorful ponies.

Dream cleared his throat before he started to speak. “Hi, my name is Clay. I just moved in today with my dad.”

“The hell’s wrong with your face, child?” The man asked, pretty rudely. “Oh, I know. Young teens, a new generation of self-expression. I was young once myself. I get it. Just so long as you’re not in a gang or anything...you’re not in a gang, are you?”

Dream narrowed his eyes and subconsciously touched the corner of his mask, trying to be polite. “No, no, it’s nothing like that.”

The flannel guy clapped his hands. “Wonderful! Well, I’m Hbomb. Don’t mess with my stuff and we’ll be okay. I’m a collector, you see. I collect many things. These things are like my family. So you mess with my things, you mess with my family. Got it?”

“Yes, sir!” Reassured Dream, starting to get a little weirded out by this Hbomb guy. “Not a problem. I won’t be giving you any troubles.”

Hbomb nodded. “Good to hear.”

“Sooooo...” Dream desperately grasped for something to say to escape this awkward silence.

“Yep, I know,” replied Hbomb. “You’re speechless because you’ve never seen such an impressive collection!”

“Yeaaaahhh,” Dream nodded, hoping that Hbomb wouldn’t catch his hesitance. He didn’t.

“Don’t worry,” grinned Hbomb. “Any time I’m home, you can stop by and take it all in again.”

Dream rocked back and forth on his heels, eyes looking around at everything except Hbomb’s face. “Do you live here alone?”

Hbomb gasped. “Alone?! Look around you!” He gestured at his collections. “I have all the company I could ever need! Well...it is nice to have a visitor from time to time, I suppose.”

Before leaving the room, Dream looked at the pony collection again.

“Bask in the glory of my complete collection of Glitter Ponies!” Hbomb barked. “A great accomplishment it is, to have this full set. You can look all you want, but don’t even think about touching them!”

“What’s a...’Glitter Pony’?” Dream inquired.

Hbomb gave him a look like Dream had just killed all the occupants of the apartment. “My god, child! Have you never seen ‘My Glitter Ponies: Rainbow Spectacular’?! It’s only the greatest television show ever produced! It’s got drama! Action! Romance! Comedy! Everything you could want. And the ponies, oh the ponies! Don’t even get me started! Mmm, yeah.”

Dream chuckled nervously. “Um...I guess I missed that one. I’ll have to look for it on TV.

“Yes you will!” Hbomb crossed his arms resolutely. “Trust me, you won’t regret it!”

Dream left that room, sighing. 

What luck did Dream have to be given all these crazy neighbors?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry Hbomb....
> 
> It’s your own fault for acting like a cat maid so much, though, so I don’t feel that bad.


	4. But I’ve Made Some Friends Here At Least, Stranger Things Have Happened

Addison Apartments, the name of the apartment complex, was home to some very strange characters.

For example, the angry intimidating man in room 101.

Dream could just tell that this man would not be his best friend any time soon.

“Yeah? A little early for trick or treating, isn’t it?”

Getting no response, the red-headed man slammed the door, muttering about “good for nothing kids”.

The only remaining room on the floor was 103, the door being unique in the fact that it had a small mail slot with the name “ADDISON” printed on it.

As soon as Dream knocked on the door, the main slot opened, revealing just a pair of blue eyes framed with red sunglasses.

“Oh dear!” The man proclaimed. “What a frightful-”

Dream could see the man, from the minimal amount of face visible, flush from embarrassment.

“Pardon me, let’s start over.”

He closed the mail slot, then reopened it and, true to his words, restarted the conversation.

“Hello, young sir, new resident of Addison Apartments, room 402. How may I be of service?”

Well, that sure was a way to make an impression.

“How do you know who I am?” Dream inquired.

With a proud smile, the man responded. “I know all that takes place within these walls, sir. You’ll do good to remember that.”

“Can I come in?” Asked Dream, wondering why this man was still speaking through the mail slot.

“Heavens no!” The man exclaimed in surprise. “I’m afraid I’m quite particular about my privacy. I’m sure you understand.”

Dream nodded, not really understanding. “Sure.”

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself properly! Dreadfully sorry!”

“It’s fine,” shrugged Dream. “My name’s Clay.”

“Yes, yes, I am well aware!” The man smiled kindly. “My name is Jordan Addison, I run this apartment complex.”

“Oh, well, I’ve gotta leave now,” Dream coughed awkwardly. “Nice meeting you.”

“Farewell, friend!”

Right in front of the door stood a young woman with curly (presumably dyed) white hair, similar to sheep wool. Her eyes were hidden by dark sunglasses, and she was jotting something down on a notepad. Pinned on her shirt was a badge that read “Detective Puffy”.

“What’s going on?” Dream asked the detective, wanting to get some actual answers.

“Hello, young man,” Detective Puffy greeted cooly. “You just moved in today, correct?”

“Yes, ma’m,” answered Dream.

The detective pushed her glasses up higher on her nose. “I already spoke with your father, seems you two were out of state when everything happened last night.”

Dream was starting to get irritated with these grown-ups and all their secret keeping, specifically on this subject.

Detective Puffy skimmed through her notepad. “Story checks out, that’s good. Try not to get in our way for now, okay? We’re investigating a serious crime.”

“Was it murder?” Dream asked.

She crossed her arms and gave him a cold stare. “I can’t talk about that.”

“Bye...,” Dream told the detective before strolling over to the elevator, fishing out the card for the basement.

The elevator dropped him off at the basement, and Dream instantly felt at least ten degrees colder.

There was a laundry machine pressed against the wall with a shelf that held miscellaneous cleaning supplies.

On the opposite side of the elevator was a vending machine stocked with delicious looking snacks. Dream wishes he had brought a few dollars with him.

Dream entered the apartment; Room B1.

There was a large living room and a kitchen to the left, with a door that must’ve led to a bathroom or spare room. On the right were two doors, one decorated with a “KEEP OUT” sign, that Dream guessed belonged to this Sapnap guy.

Dream explored left first.

And in the corner of the kitchen was something that Dream had no explanation for.

An incredibly inky darkness, darker than Dream had ever thought possible, and it was standing in the form of a man. It glared at Dream with smoky red eyes.

And, just as quickly as Dream had spotted it, it dissolved entirely, leaving Dream with one major question;

What the hell was that?


	5. Everybody Thinks I’m Crazy, But I’d Rather Be Crazy Than Dead

It was a hallucination, a trick of the light!

But whatever explanation Dream was trying to scramble up, in the back of his mind, Dream himself didn’t believe it.

It was real. That thing, that demon or ghost or demogorgon or whatever it was, was real.

But Dream decided to ignore it, for as long as he could (and Dream had a feeling that it wouldn’t be too long until he saw it again).

So, Dream continued to do what he went down in the basement in the first place for; to meet Sapnap.

Dream knocked on the door. You know, like a decent human being would do.

“Yeah?” Came a shout from behind the door.

“Hey, uh, Sapnap?” Dream responded. “Your dad said I should come say hi. I just moved into 402.”

“Oh, hey, come on in. Door’s open!”

Dream opened the door.

The inside of the bedroom was an organized mess , to put it simply.

Clothes were in a hamper, but a few stray sleeves were hung over the side. On the walls were a mixture of different band and action movie posters, along with a few paintings.

An easel stood off to the side, the painting on it very close to completion (if not finished).

One picture on the wall showed the backs of a group of people, all dressed in black; it was raining, and a few held dark umbrellas over their heads.

Another painting was of a dark brown dog, yellow eyes narrowed.

And finally, there was the painting on the easel. It was fairly simple; a tall brown tree, probably an oak tree if Dream had to guess, surrounded by dark green grass and an ominous navy blue sky.

On top of a tall cardboard box sat a large radio, plugged into a nearby outlet.

Standing next to it was who Dream assumed to be Sapnap. Sapnap had messy black hair that reached just a little over his ears, and eyes the same color. Unlike cliché tropes with dark eyes holding despair, Sapnap’s eyes held a spark of mischief.

Around his head was a white headband, and he wore a white shirt with a red-orange fire symbol in the middle of it, along with simple black pants. What stood out the most was Sapnap’s strange black-and-white checkered shoes.

“Whoa, nice mask!” Complimented Sapnap.

Dream stared blankly at him. “It’s a prosthetic.”

“Oh, shit. Sorry man!” Sapnap rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s cool,” Dream shrugged. “I’m used to much worse by now. So I’m glad you like it.”

“So, do you like, have no face under there? Or what happened?”

Wow, this guy was blunt.

“I’d rather not talk about that.”

Sapnap gave Dream a chill smile. “Okay, change of subject. I’m Sapnap, and I live down here with my dad.”

“I’m Clay,” the green-eyed boy greeted back. “My friends call me Dream. I just moved here with my dad from New Jersey.”

“Dream?” Sapnap echoed in confusion.

Well, Sapnap wasn’t that common of a name either.

“I guess I didn’t really have any decent friends, to be honest,” explained Dream instead. “They started called me a ‘nightmare’, then I shot back that I was more of a ‘Dream come true’. They all started calling me ‘Dream’ instead, and I guess it just stuck.”

Sapnap smirked. “You’re a complicated dude, aren’t you, Dream? You’re pretty strange. I like you. We’re gonna get along great.”

Dream gave a small chuckle. “That’s what your dad said, too.”

“‘Mother knows best’, after all,” laughed Sapnap.

“Why do you live in the basement?” Asked Dream, glancing around Sapnap’s room again.

“My mom said it was to guard the place for rats. But I’m pretty sure she gets this room rent-free with the maintenance gig.”

Dream pointed at a poster with the letters SF on it in a cool logo. “I like you’re poster.”

“Thanks,” grinned Sapnap. “It’s for this metal band called Sanity’s Fall. Do you like metal?”

“I don’t know,” confessed Dream.

Sapnap’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that’s gotta change. Check out this song!”

Sapnap pressed a couple of buttons on his radio, and a very loud song with lots of screaming started playing. It was cool.

Dream may or may not have head-banged to the song along with Sapnap.

“What happened in 403?” Dream eventually inquired, still not knowing exactly what happened.

Eyes widened in fear and shock, Sapnap shushed him. “Not so loud, man!”

“What?” Dream’s eyebrows furrowed. “What is it!?”

“The killer is still in the building.”

Dream’s heart started racing.

“How do you know that?”

“I saw it happen,” Sapnap whispered.

Dream took a step back. “Are you high right now?”

“I wish I was, man,” scoffed Sapnap. “This was some scary shit.”

Something in Sapnap, the way his hands shook slightly or the pure terror in his eyes, made Dream wholeheartedly believe him.

“What happened?”

Sapnap took a deep breath before explaining.

“Okay, so, I was helping Alyssa with a clogged toilet. I was just finishing up when I heard him busting in, screaming like a lunatic!

‘I know what you’ve done! Callahan told me everything! You stupid bitch!’

She tried to calm him down, but before she could get a word in, he sliced her neck wide open!

I was shocked. I couldn’t move, man, frozen in fear. Just peaking through the cracks in the bathroom door.

Anyways, it all happened so fast and then he cleaned up quickly and left. I don’t know how, but he didn’t even see me.

I haven’t really told anyone yet, not even my dad. But I trust you.”

“You know who did it?” Dream asked, shocked by the sudden statement his friend just made.

Sapnap nodded his head, mouth in a grim frown. “Yeah, definitely Hbomb. Big creeper from 204. He was wearing gloves, so I don’t think they got any prints or anything.”

“Shouldn’t you tell this to the cops?”

“I tried,” grumbled Sapnap. “But that detective wouldn’t listen to me. She said I needed some sort of evidence. Like my word isn’t good enough!”

Dream decided to change the subject from murder to something a bit less heavy.

“What’s up with the guy in 103?”

“Oh, that’s Jordan, he owns the place,” Sapnap answered. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him leave his room, he always talks through his little mail slot. He’s a nice dude, just real strange. Oh, yeah, and if you say ‘Addison Tea, please and thank you’ to him, he’ll give you a cup of his famous tea.” Sapnap gave a shrug. “I hate the stuff, but the adults seem to love it.”

“What’s this thing?” Dream asked, walking over to a walkie-talkie like thing on a dresser.

“That’s a, uh, police scanner. Let’s me listen in on local police chatter.”

“How the hell did you get this thing?” Dream asked, equally concerned as he was in awe.

Sapnap smirked. “That’s a question for another day. But hey! You just gave me a great idea! Maybe if I make a fake call, the police will be distracted enough for you to sneak into 403. Maybe we can find some evidence to show that detective, something they weren’t looking for.”

“Pretty quick to sign me up for the break-in.”

“Well, I have to make the call from down here, and-”

“I’m just messing with you,” Dream cut in, grinning in excitement. “I’m totally up for this.”


	6. Though The Truth Is Dark And Hazy, There’s A Price We Must Pay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >>>Chapter contains detailed descriptions of a crime scene and corpses. Please proceed with caution

“So, what’s the plan?”

Dream and Sapnap were sitting on the latter’s bed, discussing the best course of action.

“I’ll call a bank robbery,” Sapnap declared. “A hostage situation. That should clear out the cops for sure. I’m guessing that’ll buy us a few minutes until they figure out it wasn’t real. You gotta be upstairs when I do that, we need to make those minutes count.”

Sapnap took two identical radios from a drawer in his dresser and handed one to Dream. “We can use my walkie-talkies to communicate during the whole thing. That way I can also give you a heads up on when the cops are coming back.”

“Sounds pretty solid to me,” agreed Dream. “Maybe just switch the bank robbery to armed robbery at, like, a gas station or something to make it seem more realistic.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Good call, Dreamy! Take that walkie-talkie and head to your room, then tell me when you’re ready.”

Dream gave a nod before heading back up the elevator.

Before going to his apartment, Dream decided to try something out. 

He knocked on the door to room 103.

Sure enough, the mail flap opened and revealed the face of Jordan Addison.

“Addison Tea, please and thank you!” Dream said.

“Coming right up!” Jordan chirped.

Jordan disappeared behind the closed mail slot, before sticking out a cup of tea.

“Here you go, sir! Please enjoy!”

Dream gave the tea an experimental sniff, wrinkling up his nose. It smelled _awful_ , Dream definitely wouldn’t be drinking this stuff. He shoved it into his hoodie pocket and hoped it wouldn’t spill.

As soon as he got back to his room, Dream reported back to Sapnap by means of walkie-talkie.

“Okay, I’m in my room now.”

“Alright, let’s do this!” Exclaimed the crackly voice of Sapnap. “I’ve gotta make the call, give me a second.”

Dream spent that time very wisely; petting Patches.

“Okay, it’s done,” reported Sapnap at last. “I heard a bunch of rustling upstairs, so I’m pretty sure it worked! Go see if you can get into 403 now.”

Just like Sapnap had said, the (pretty rude) guard from before was gone, leaving the mysterious room unguarded.

Even without the body in the room, the grisly scene made Dream (who prided himself on having a tough stomach) queasy. 

It was different from playing 8-bit shooter games with only small specks of blood. It was different from those cheesy horror movies that were incredibly unrealistic. It was even different from other horror movies that were so realistic it frankly made Dream a little afraid (but he would never admit that).

It was the smell, he guessed. The tangy coppery scent and just the aura of death all around.

But, mainly, it was the fact that _someone actually died here_. A person who lived, breathed, loved... _died_ in the very room Dream was standing in.

There was a white chalk outline of a body on floor, the carpet around the head stained an awful crimson. The couch had streaks of blood diagonal across it, as did the wall the couch was up against. The coffee table beside the couch was broken in half, lying in a “v” formation.

A picture of a gleeful couple hung up on the wall, a brunette man wearing a brown hoodie and a Captain America hat and a dirty blonde woman wearing a plain black long-sleeved shirt.

That woman must be Alyssa, and that man, according to Sapnap, was Alyssa’s husband; Callahan.

A table with multiple drawers sat on the opposite side of the couch, blood covering the top. On it we’re a couple of pony figures, and a weird pony-figure-shaped clean spot. The figure must’ve been taken after the blood got all over the table. 

Dream relayed everything over the walkie-talkie.

“That’s it!” Sapnap whooped. “I know how we can get him! Get out of there and come to the basement.”

The masked boy rushed to his friend’s room, luckily not running into any police officers.

“Alyssa and Hbomb always collected these weird toys,” Sapnap explained. “They’re _nuts_ over those things. Alyssa got this super rare one or something. She was talking about it that day I was fixing her toilet. Anyways, I bet you Hbomb couldn’t resist taking it, actually I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the reason he offed her in the first place! That dude always did give me the creeps. Something unsettling about him, ya know?”

“Wow, this is crazy.” Dream took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair. “This guy definitely needs to be caught. We can’t live in the same building as a murderer!”

“Exactly,” agreed Sapnap. “That’s why you’ve got to sneak into Hbomb’s place and take that toy!”

“Wait,” interrupted Dream. “Why do _I_ have to do it?! I snuck into 403.”

“Hbomb’s not to fond of me.” Sapnap crossed his arms, huffing. “There’s no way he’s letting me in. Accused me of stealing snacks from him. _Snacks!_ Can you believe it?!”

“Alright, alright,” relented Dream. “I’ll do it. Won’t be able to sleep at night otherwise.”

“Cool! You’re the man, Dream!” Sapnap handed Dream a plastic bag. “Here, take this baggie. You can slip the toy in, without touching it.”

Dream sighed. “Why do I have a feeling you’ve done this before?”

“Haha, nah,” Sapnap smirked. “I just watch a lot of TV.”

Now, the only thing left to do was get Hbomb away from his toy collection long enough to take that evidence and escape. But Dream knew it would be impossible to get Hbomb away from his toys-

Wait...

“Hey, Sapnap?”

Sapnap questioningly hummed.

“You said all the adults like Addison Tea, right?” Dream inquired.

“Yep, for some reason.” Sapnap scrunched up his face a pretended to gag.

“For no particular reason, does Hbomb enjoy Addison Tea?”

Sapnap groaned. “Probably more that everyone! That guy drinks so much that Jordan has to give him a limit of cups, and that dude is one of the most generous guys I’ve ever met. Hbomb usually pays George a nickel to run it up from the first floor.”

Then, Sapnap scrunched up his face in confusion. “But what does that have to do with-wait, you aren’t thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you?”

Dream grinned back. “We drug the tea.”

“You’re one hell of a conniving mastermind, aren’t you Dream?” Sapnap asked, half awe and half I-can’t-believe-he’s-actually-doing-this. “I’m glad I’m not your enemy.”

And with that, Dream made a beeline to his apartment bathroom.

See, Dream’s dad had some trouble sleeping after...what happened in New Jersey. So, he had gotten prescribed some sleep aid that was kept right on the bathroom counter. Some pretty strong sleep aid.

And, well, Hbomb couldn’t really do much to stop Dream if Hbomb was fast asleep.

Dream presented the tea to Hbomb, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

“I got a cup of Addison Tea for you!” 

Hbomb sighed sadly. “I shouldn’t drink any more for today.”

“Are you sure?” Dream continued. “It’s free!”

“Well, maybe-” Hbomb cut himself off. “No, I don’t want to overdo it. I’ve probably had at least 20 cups today...”

“Are you positive?” Dream brainstormed quickly for some kind of idea to get Hbomb to drink the tea. “This is, uh, a...new recipe! Yeah, a new recipe Jordan’s working out. I already had three cups, and it’s way better than the other kind. I even-”

“Oh!” Hbomb declared. “I have to try that! Give it here!”

Hbomb quickly slurped down the tea. 

“You’re right!” Hbomb agreed. “This is better than the original. I don’t know how he-”

Just like that, Hbomb fell fast asleep.

Wasting no time, Dream got the toy in the plastic bag (making sure not to get any fingerprints on the pony). Now that Dream thought about it, the figurine was pretty obvious if you looked. The feet, or hooves technically, were coated in dry blood.

“I got it!” Dream whispered into the radio.

“Dreamy, my man! I knew you could do it!” Congratulated Sapnap. “Now all that’s left is giving it to that detective.”

After saying a quick thanks to Sapnap, Dream rode the elevator down to the first floor to talk to the detective.

“Hey, Detective Puffy,” greeted Dream.

“Hello, Clay,” the detective acknowledged.

“I’m certain that the killer was Hbomb, and I have evidence to prove it!” Dream declared, handing the baggie with the figurine to Detective Puffy.

“Let me see that,” instructed Puffy. “This came from Hbomb’s room? How did you get this?”

“Well,” started Dream. “I was just saying hello to my new neighbors, you know, trying to introduce myself to everyone. I was in there talking to Hbomb and he was showing me all of his toys. That’s when I noticed one had _blood_ on it. I thought for sure this would be helpful, so I grabbed it with my lunch bag.”

It wasn’t a total lie, just... _fabricated_ a bit.

Detective Puffy chuckled and ruffled Dream’s hair a little. 

“Well, well,” she said. “A little detective in training, huh? Heh, not bad kid. I better hold onto this. Just remember, next time you bring this info to _us_ instead of taking it into your own hands. Okay?”

“Yes, ma’m,” answered Dream. “You got it.”

By the next day, the police confirmed that Hbomb was indeed the culprit and came to arrest him.

Puffy gave Dream a reassuring smile. “Good job, kid. Rest easy now.”

Hbomb was in the back of the police car, his hands cuffed in front of him.

His eyes met Dream’s.

They were desperate, pleading, on the edge of tears.

“I’m innocent, I swear!” Hbomb wailed. “I thought you were my _friend_!”

There was another car in front of the police cruiser. A larger one with the word “CORONER” on it in bold.

No one was around, so Dream peeked into the back window of the van...

And there was Alyssa, eyes hazy and unblinking. Strapped to a stretcher in a black bag. But the worst thing was the...the injury, the killing blow.

The middle of her head was split wide open and exposed several pieces of brain.

Dream felt sick.

———

Dr. Manifold, despite not witnessing it first hand, even looked pale at Dream’s description of his first day at Addison Apartments.

“Such a horrific sight for someone to see,” sympathized the doctor. “Especially a young child your age. Fifteen years old and already you had witnessed two gruesome scenes. It must’ve been very traumatizing for you.”

“Sure, I guess so,” Dream responded monotonously.

The doctor continued. “And all these years later, the new evidence that finally proved Hbomb was falsely accused. After so much of his time locked behind bars...how did that make you feel?”

Dream bunched up his hands into fists, scowling. “I’m not convinced it wasn’t him.”

“Yes,” Dr. Manifold sighed. “So you’ve said. What about Sapnap?”

“What about him?” Shot back Dream. “Like I’ve said, the guy was my best friend all through high school.”

“And after high school?” The therapist prompted.

“We’ve been over this,” Dream snapped. “I lost contact with Sapnap after graduation. I have no clue where he is now.”

Dr. Manifold leaned closer. “You seem to be upset by my mention of him.”

Narrowing his eyes, Dream responded. “I just don’t know what good asking the same questions all the time is doing. I thought you were supposed to help me?”

“I understand your frustration, Clay, I really do,” the other man persisted. “I want to help you, but you seem to be holding something back. I can’t help you unless you’re completely honest. Do you understand where I’m coming from?”

“Yeah,” Dream replied simply.

“Well, I’m afraid our time is over for today,” concluded Dr. Manifold.

“Wait!” Dream insisted. “I-...it’s about Sapnap-”

“I’m sorry, Dream.” The doctor smiled apologetically. “You know how strict they are with the schedule. Please keep those thoughts for our next session.”

Dream was silent.

“Next week will be our last meeting before your trial. So I hope you’ll let me help you.”

Dream grabbed his mask from where it was sitting on the table in front of him and put it on.

“For what it’s worth, Dream, I don’t think you’re a murderer.”

As he was escorted back to his prison cell by a few guards, Dream sighed as he glanced at Dr. Manifold one last time.

**“You might be the only one.”**


End file.
